Hammers win, but Dayton victory closes playoff door

Published: Saturday, August 17, 2013 at 10:26 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, August 17, 2013 at 10:26 p.m.

The Wilmington Hammerheads pulled off their end of the bargain Saturday night, with a 4-1 win over visiting Antigua. But to get into the USL Pro playoffs, they needed a loss or tie out of Dayton, in its match against Harrisburg.

The Dutch Lions did not cooperate and took the eighth and final playoff berth with a 3-1 win. Dayton finishes at 10-9-7 (37 points) and Wilmington finishes in ninth place, at 11-11-4 (36 points).

The Hammerheads wrapped up their season on a five-match winning streak.

"We did what we had to do and there's 22 disappointed young men out there," Wilmington coach David Irving said. "It's just unfortunate the other part of the equation didn't happen.

"All credit to Dayton. They did what they had to do."

Cody Arnoux continued his recent scoring barrage, with a goal in the 65th minute, to increase the Wilmington lead to 2-0. Tom Parratt's second assist of the game and team-best sixth of the season set up Arnoux's score.

The Barracuda responded two minutes later with a goal by Orlando Mitchum.

But it took only another minute for Steven Perry to produce another two-goal lead, at 3-1. Perry raced past the defense on the dribble and laced a long shot into the net.

“We go on a great run at the end of season, but it would be a case of too little too late,” Parratt said. “And it’s just disappointing that it had to end like that.”

The two teams battled through nearly all of the first half with both nets untouched. In the 45th minute, the Hammerheads were awarded a free kick from the left side of the Barracuda box.

Parratt launched a liner deep across the goal front, where teammate Daniel Steres flicked the ball into the net for a 1-0 Wilmington lead. It was Steres’ team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Wilmington midfielder Will Heaney blasted the net in stoppage time to set the final score.

Irving noted the one-point deduction for an ineligible player from earlier in the season came back to haunt the team. After Parratt had accumulated enough yellow-card points for a one-game suspension, Irving sat him. But the league ruled the game following that one, in which Parratt played, was when he should have served the suspension and docked the team one point in the standings.

“That’s disappointing,” Irving said. “Because that should never have happened. But it happened and we have to live with that.

“We come back from a big hole that we put ourselves in. It’s a long time that we haven’t been in the playoffs."

The Wilmington team awards were announced at halftime. Daniel Steres is the team MVP, Kyle Greig is both the rookie of the year and offensive player of the year, and Michael Daly is the defensive player of the year.

<p>The <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9944"><b>Wilmington Hammerheads</b></a> pulled off their end of the bargain Saturday night, with a 4-1 win over visiting Antigua. But to get into the USL Pro playoffs, they needed a loss or tie out of Dayton, in its match against Harrisburg. </p><p>The Dutch Lions did not cooperate and took the eighth and final playoff berth with a 3-1 win. Dayton finishes at 10-9-7 (37 points) and Wilmington finishes in ninth place, at 11-11-4 (36 points).</p><p>The Hammerheads wrapped up their season on a five-match winning streak. </p><p>"We did what we had to do and there's 22 disappointed young men out there," Wilmington coach David Irving said. "It's just unfortunate the other part of the equation didn't happen. </p><p>"All credit to Dayton. They did what they had to do." </p><p>Cody Arnoux continued his recent scoring barrage, with a goal in the 65th minute, to increase the Wilmington lead to 2-0. Tom Parratt's second assist of the game and team-best sixth of the season set up Arnoux's score. </p><p>The Barracuda responded two minutes later with a goal by Orlando Mitchum. </p><p>But it took only another minute for Steven Perry to produce another two-goal lead, at 3-1. Perry raced past the defense on the dribble and laced a long shot into the net. </p><p>“We go on a great run at the end of season, but it would be a case of too little too late,” Parratt said. “And it's just disappointing that it had to end like that.” </p><p>The two teams battled through nearly all of the first half with both nets untouched. In the 45th minute, the Hammerheads were awarded a free kick from the left side of the Barracuda box. </p><p>Parratt launched a liner deep across the goal front, where teammate Daniel Steres flicked the ball into the net for a 1-0 Wilmington lead. It was Steres' team-leading seventh goal of the season. </p><p>Wilmington midfielder Will Heaney blasted the net in stoppage time to set the final score. </p><p>Irving noted the one-point deduction for an ineligible player from earlier in the season came back to haunt the team. After Parratt had accumulated enough yellow-card points for a one-game suspension, Irving sat him. But the league ruled the game following that one, in which Parratt played, was when he should have served the suspension and docked the team one point in the standings.</p><p>“That's disappointing,” Irving said. “Because that should never have happened. But it happened and we have to live with that. </p><p>“We come back from a big hole that we put ourselves in. It's a long time that we haven't been in the playoffs." </p><p>The Wilmington team awards were announced at halftime. Daniel Steres is the team MVP, Kyle Greig is both the rookie of the year and offensive player of the year, and Michael Daly is the defensive player of the year. </p><p>The votes were tabulated from fans on the Hammerheads' blog.</p>